I'm not mad at Arte. I just don't like the way he runs the franchise. He's actually pretty predictable and nothing much has changed since he started. A little bit of window dressing here and there but really, it's all been part of the same MO. Feed the major league team. Put a reasonably marketable team on the field with a blend of some star power and hint of decency.
And to the comment earlier of him riding the coattails of the previous regime. Sort of true. What he really did was to ride the vision of Bill Stoneman. Arte seemed a lot more passive in those days where he let Bill do his thing and Bill kept him under control. I think that 2009 series loss to the Yanks really changed him. And Reagins fumbling about sort of facilitated him getting more involved.
Arte wants to win and has shown his support in the way he sees best by spending a certain amount. His efforts have been misguided for a long time and while there is that passion for winning, it's never really been ahead of his passion for making money. Except last year. That was really quite the disaster. Raise payroll. Put a big dent in the farm. Barely win 70 games and soon to follow you lose your golden goose to your biggest rival down the street.
And the reason I just shake my head at the way he runs things is that he was willing to throw 9 figures at yet another player who is probably on the downside of his prime if not already past it.
We joke about the definition of insanity. But I guess it's not insane considering that he's probably pocketing millions on a yearly and could easily get a more than 10 fold return on his original investment.
I always gotten the sense from him when he does interviews that he's got this sort of 'if you don't like it then oh well' sort of attitude.
We talk a lot about what he should do differently. Why should he? As far as he's concerned, it ain't broken. The only thing that broken was last year when he spent an extra 50 million dollars for no reason.